This 47-Year-Old Classic Will Improve Your IT Skills

There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who know who Fred Brooks was and those who don’t. If you are an IT professional in the second group, you can step up your game dramatically by reading his seminal book “The Mythical Man-Month.”

Fred Brooks managed IBM System/360, the project that produced the first real general-purpose computer back in the 1960s. He distilled his experience from this 5,000-man-year project into the first edition of TMMM in 1975 and the expanded anniversary edition from 1995 stands on my bookshelf. When I meet other experienced IT architects, as at Software Architecture Open Space in Copenhagen this month, people will use phrases like “second-system effect” that originated with Brooks. He passed away yesterday after a long and productive life full of accolades.

To commemorate Fred Brooks, I’m inviting you to join a series of online discussions on IT best practices and what we can still learn from The Mythical Man-Month. We’ll meet on Zoom every Thursday at 5 pm CET = 11 am EST = 8 am PST. We’ll discuss one chapter from the book and how it applies to our work in IT today. I expect each meeting will be 30-60 minutes, and we’ll record it for those who can’t make it. We start next Thursday, November 24. Sign up here: https://vester.li/tmmm

Homo Deus by Yuval Harari

Harari is strongest when he analyzes the long sweep of human history as he did in Sapiens. His analysis of how Humanism evolved during the Enlightenment as a quasi-religion is insightful and serves as a useful framework for thinking about the role of religion in modern society.

As he speculates on the future of mankind, he offers some thought-provoking ideas. His scenarios of increasing inequality as the rich take advantage of biotech advances are probable, but he ends off veering into improbable Kurzweil-like scenarios of humans being supplanted by big data and AI. Uneven, but still recommended.

★★★★☆

Read a Book

If you’re not completely happy with your life, read a book. There are literally thousands of books with important tips and techniques you can use immediately to improve your life.

I’m currently reading “The Obstacle is the Way” by Ryan Holiday, and I have a long list of books to read. Celebrate World Book Day today by picking up a book. It just might change your life.